新视野大学英语视听说教程 4 Unit 1-4

Task3: A View of Happiness
Script
Dr. Smith has proposed a reasonable, if perhaps somewhat oversimplifies, view of happiness. According to his theory, happiness might be described as a state if balance. And when human or certain animals achieve that balance, they rend¹ to remain in that condition in order to repeat the happy feeling.
To illustrate² this, we may study two magnets. When their positive and negative poles meet, they are comfortably joined, and they remain there. In other words, they have attained³ a balance or state of happiness. If on the other hand, one of the poles is reversed, and positive pole is presses against positive pole, there is resistance, instability, imbalance a state of unhappiness.
Animals with some degree of intelligence seem to find happiness in reinforcement. Once they have gained one or more of their goals such as food, and water, they learn to repeat the actions that led to satisfaction of those goals. This repetition or reinforcement produces a state of balance or sense of happiness.
According to this theory, only animals with a significant capacity to learn should be able to experience happiness. But in truth learning can take place through surprisingly simple short-term action such as scratching an itch⁴, followed by pleasure, followed by more scratching, and so on. Thus learning can occur with almost no conscious thought.
For human beings, blessed with the ability to reason, goals are not limited to the short-term satisfaction of needs. Indeed, there is a strong link between happiness and the fulfillment of long-term goals. Even if human strive for goals that are more complex and longer-term than the animals’ goals, once those goals are gained, happiness is reinforced.

 

1. Why does the speaker mention “magnets”?
2. According to the passage, what may animals do after they have got food?
3. Which of the following is true according to the speaker?
4. What does the speaker say is special about the goals of human beings?
5. Which of the following best captures the main idea of the passage?

 

 

Keys: 1D 2.C3. B 4.D 5.A

1 rend   

vt.把…撕开，割裂；把…揪下来，强行夺取

参考例句：

• Her scrams would rend the heart of any man.她的喊叫声会撕碎任何人的心。
• Will they rend the child from his mother?他们会不会把这个孩子从他的母亲身边夺走呢？

2 illustrate   

v.举例说明，阐明；图解，加插图

参考例句：

• The company's bank statements illustrate its success.这家公司的银行报表说明了它的成功。
• This diagram will illustrate what I mean.这个图表可说明我的意思。

3 attained   

（通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况）

参考例句：

• She has attained the degree of Master of Arts. 她已获得文学硕士学位。
• Lu Hsun attained a high position in the republic of letters. 鲁迅在文坛上获得崇高的地位。

4 itch   

n.痒，渴望，疥癣；vi.发痒，渴望

参考例句：

• Shylock has an itch for money.夏洛克渴望发财。
• He had an itch on his back.他背部发痒。